Saga cruises branch out

Saga, the travel company specialising in holidays for the over-50s, has not had the best of luck with its cruise operation.
The fleet shrunk from three to two last year with the closure of associated brand Spirit of Adventure and the retirement of Saga Ruby. The company pulled out of world voyages a couple of years ago and now operates mostly ex-UK cruises from Southampton and Dover.
The two remaining ships, Saga Pearl II and in particular Saga Sapphire, have been less than reliable in recent months. Sapphire was temporarily left without power off the coast of Mull after a small electrical fire on May 16, and suffered another power outage a few days later as it was about to enter the Kiel Canal.
All of which is a shame for what is essentially a popular operation providing quality cruising for its devoted customers.
Talk over the past few years of adding to the fleet with a newbuild ship has so far come to nothing – possibly as a result of the financial pressures involved in Saga’s recent stock market float. There is no sign of an acquisition of older tonnage on the horizon either, for the time being at least.
So it is encouraging to see that Saga has now taken the move to increase what it can offer by partnering with other cruise lines. Azamara, Fred Olsen and Celebrity are already signed up and more are promised.
Customers booking with Saga get the same advantages that come with the rest of the company’s travel portfolio – door-to-door car service, an escort on board, and included travel insurance.
A new Saga brochure, including the additional offerings, will be thudding onto doormats throughout the country in July.
Saga Cruises’ boss Robin Shaw said: “This venture allows us to reach out to more people. We will now be able to offer even greater choice to today’s over 50s. With cruises on ships big and small, sailing to all four corners of the globe, from exotic fly cruises or embarkation points in the UK, there’s lots of choice.”